We form the Past Perfect by using had with the past participle:
Sub. + had + 3rd form of verb + object
Positive → I/ you/ he/ she/ it/ we/ you/ they had finished
Short forms → I/ you/ he/ she/ we/ you/ they'd finished
Negative → I/ you/ he/ she/ it/ we/ you/ they had not finished
Short forms → I/ you/ he/ she/ it/ we/ you/ they hadn't finished
Questions Had → I/ you/ he/ she/ it/ we/ you/ they finished?
Short answers → Yes, I had. No, we hadn't
Examples:
They had visited a doctor.
He had slept.
I had finished my work last year.
It had rained heavily last month.
The film had started before we reached cinema.
They had not visited a doctor.
He had not slept.
I had not finished my work last year.
It had not rained heavily last month.
The film had not started before we reached cinema.
Had they visited a doctor?
Had he slept?
Had I finished my work last year?
Had it rained heavily last month?
Had the film started before we reached cinema.
We use the Past Perfect to talk about an action in the past that happened at a time before another action in the past:
Examples:
The thief had gone before the police came.
You had studied English before you moved to Mumbai.
Had you studied English before you moved to Mumbai?
You had not studied English before you moved to Mumbai.
I had never seen such a beautiful beach before I went to Phuket.
I did not have any money because I had lost my wallet.
Tanmay knew Mumbai so well because he had visited the city several times.
Had Sunita ever studied French before she moved to France?
She only understood the movie because she had read the book.
Ananya had never been to a disco before last night.
We were not able to get a hotel room because we had not booked in advance.
A: Had you ever visited the U.S. before your trip in 2010?
B: Yes, I had been to the U.S. once before.
We use the Past Perfect to show that something started in the past and continued up until another action in the past.
Examples:
We had had that car for ten years before it broke down.
By the time Avi finished his studies, he had been in London for over eight years.
They felt bad about selling the house because they had owned it for more than forty years.
Here are some more examples:
|
Then (main past) |
Before then (far past) |
|
Avi was ill. Susan arrived late. I was late for the appointment. |
He had eaten too much chocolate. Her car had broken down. The doctor had gone home. |
We normally use the Past Perfect if we tell the story like this:
Vijay went home early. He had worked hard, (the story goes back)
But we normally use the Past Simple if we tell the story like this:
Vijay worked hard. Then he went home, (the story goes forward)
We often use the Past Perfect with:
Example:
→ We use it for the earlier action.
→ She arrived late because her car had broken down.
→ After he had seen the doctor, Pavan got better.
→ Surili had phoned her boss before she took her car to the garage.
Example:
→ I arrived at 6 p.m. but Aayush had already gone.
→ Anu had never been late before.
Example:
→ Anup met his old friend in 1998.
→ He had not seen her for five years,
or He had not seen her since 1993.
The Past Perfect of have is had had or 'd had.
She arrived late because she had had problems starting the car.
